Shutter-operator



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES R. EDWARDS, OF NIAGARA CITY, NEV YORK.

SHUTTER-OPERATOR.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 15,287, dated July 8, 1856; Reissued March 1,

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES R. EDWARDS, of Niagara City, in the county of Niagara and State of New York, have invented a new and useful ,hinge or trimming for hang ing window-blinds, by use of which a person on the inside and without the necessity of the window being raised can by turning a short knob crank open and .shut the blind, and said blind will remain self stayed or fastened in any desired position, whether shut or opened or any part of the way opened, and by a slight turn of the said knob crank the lattice also can be opened or shut and fastened; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactI description of t-he construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l shows the appearance of the hinge on the outside of the building, while the blind is nearly closed.

Fig. 2 is a view from the inside.

Fig. 3 is a nearly full size part of the hinge and is fastened as a corner butt to t-he Window casing, by screws at A, A, A (see outside front view of same piece in Fig. l, at letter A).

In Fig. 4, the cog wheel and butt z', z' are cast in one piece, and is to be fastened on to the blind, as shown in Fig. l, at :71, z'. The socket lc, Fig. 4, is to be slipped on the gudgeon Z, Fig. 3, which so far forms a hinge with wheel (or segment of a wheel) and cogs on its under side, covering (or nearly covering) the cavity B, B, Fig. 8, and on opening the blind would turn horizontally over said cavity as in Fig. l. But before fastening any part of the hinge to the casing, a hole about three fourths of an inch in diameter, should be bored from outside to inside, through the casing; and the shaft in Fig. et, from m to H, should be pushed in said hole; the hinge piece Fig. 3, should next be so fitted to the casing, that the screw end of the shaft at F, may revolve in the cavity B, B; the gudgeon g should also be entered in the socket el. Now while thus fitted to the shaft, and before this part is screwed to the casing, take the piece shown in Fig. 5, and enter its end E just through the square hole E, in Fig. 3, so that its concave at B will form one side of the cavity B, B, and n imite to n. Next fasten this part of the hinge (Fig. 3) thus iitted, to the casing, allowing C, C, to form a half socketfor the said shaft at H. The piece, Fig. 5, will be held to its place by the catch ato. After fastening the cog part of the hinge z', z', to the blind, and the blind being so hung that said cogs will mesh with the aforesaid screw thread, as shown in Fig. l and the meshing of the screw, also illustrated by Fig. t) take the knob crank piece, shown in Fig. 6, and push its end from 20 to p, into the aforesaid hole in t-he casing, and from the inside, so that it will unite and mesh with the other part of the shaft shown in Fig. 4;'said knob crank may be made to enter through a round scutcheon, or a guard piece elongated so as to form a curtain trimming if desired, as shown at z5, t, in Fig. 2.v Now by turning the knob crank, the screw shaft is made to force open or shut the blind.

Fig. 7, shows the shape and position of the cogs in relation to the center of the wheel; said cogs are formed on the under side of said wheel, and made having a rolling taper; they may be made tapering pointing toward the center of said wheel, but it is preferable to make the cogs as broad at the outer cylindrical surface of the wheel, as can be meshed and operated with a spiral thread, and also taper on a roll that will mesh with said thread, and pointing not toward the center ofthe wheel, but toward a point between the center of the wheelv (or socket) and the casing, so that the extreme end of the shaft (or screw) need not project beyond the casing farther than the center of the wheel, or socket of the hinge at 7c. The cogs thus described, are illustrated in sha-pe andposition by Fig. 7. The tapering of the cogs as described, allows the screw thread to operate almost wholly under cover of the said wheel, and by operating the screw on the under side, the whole construction in all its proportions, is large enough and yet sufficiently compact, to be practical on the thin window casings of brick buildings.

There is a slight projection on the outer cylindrical edge of the cog wheel as shown at E, E, Fig. 4 which when the hinge is put together, juts over the piece Fig. 5 at D for the purpose of conducting off water and in combination with the piece Fig. to pro-- tect both screw and cogs from ice, while at the saine time the piece Fig. 5 is made to hold the screw lirmly to its proper place.

The parts containing the socket d, Fig. 3 and the half socket c, c, Figs. 3 and 5 may be made aring to correspond with flaring window casings, but the flare should be made in reference to the cavity and sockets, without interfering with the angle of the butt.

Letter V in Fig. 2 represents the appearance of that part of the trimmings on the stile of the blind, which by means of the above described combination, and by slightly turning the aforesaid knob crank S, causes the lattice to open, or shut and fasten.

Letter W, Fig. 2, shows the construction of the spring and knee lever, (see y, I), m, 6,)

and the slide catch K, which are covered.

at letter V by a thin iron cap piece. At @c a screw passes through the cap piece and knee lever, fastening the same to the blind, and also forming a fulcrum for the said lever. The end of thelever at y, is connected by a staple, near the end and edge of a lattice slat, and by a wire about threefourths of an inch long, hooked at one end into the said staple and at its other and lower end hooked into the lever at y.

The knob crank, or key, Fig. 6, is used for the several purposes of operating the lattice, and adapting itself to thick or thin casings, as well as to be used as a portable key to be used for operating several blinds. By operating the lattice by a slight movement of the blind through the hinge it thus avoids the eXtra expense of forming a separate connection to operate the lattice from the inside. The knob crank is easily cast to ft. Now turn the knob crank S so as to shut the blind firmly, and the knee lever at e is pressed against a part of the butt, or it may be brought against the head of a screw, as at a, which pressure causes the end of the lever at jz/ to rise and shut the lattice; and

when the knob crank is turned so as to cause the blind to be of an inch (or less) farther from the center of the window, the pressure on the lever at e will be removed, so that the lattice will open if made to fall by weight or gravity; or a spiral spring (wire) may be attached to the said lever at I), and a nail drove through a loop at its lower end and into the stile as at z, so that it will draw down the lever at y. If, when the blind is open, it is ever desired, the lattice may be closed by the hand and fastened closed by sliding the catch K under the lever. For this object an open space K in the cap piece V, is made for a projection on the catch K to slide in. In order to prevent the end of the lever at y from dropping too low, a small screw is put through the cap piece under the lever at 7L, which also helps to fasten on the cap piece V. The center of the aforesaid cog wheel and the gudgeon Z, Fig. 3, on which it turns, may be made so as to vary in the distances which the hinges are required to project from the casing to be practical for brick as well as wood buildings.

I claiml. The portable male crank, Fig. G, as constructed, and operated with the screw shaft with the combination, and for the purposes described.

2. I claim the piece, Fig. 5, and the thin projection (as shown at E, E, Fig. 4) on the outer cylindrical edge of the cog wheel as and for the purposes described.

3. I claim operating the screw in the combination described, by use of the knob crank (Fig. 6) for the purpose of operating the lever (b, c, Fig. 2) while the lever is in contact at e, with the head of a screw (or its substitute) in the casing at a, Fig. 2, for the purpose of operating the lattice as described.

CHARLES R. EDXVARDS.

Vitnesses:

AUGUSTUS S. BROOKS, D. G. RUSSELL.

[FIRST PRINTED 1912.] 

